Slideouts: Benefits and drawbacks

[deltabravo]

For those considering a camper with a slide out, or without, I will offer my 3 cents worth:

Benefits:
More space!
I love the expanded floor space I get in my AF811 with the slide out.
I can imagine that with 2 people, the extra space would even be more advantageous, because you can walk past each other without going sideways.

When I was camper shopping in mid to late 2009, I also considered the AF865, but went with the 811 because it was shorter, and it would also more easily accommodate installing a power inverter.

Shorter camper, with less weight was a huge consideration for me at the time due to payload capacity of my truck, as well as the fact that I always have a trailer with me when the camper is on the truck.

Knowing what I know now, after having lived with a slide out for 3.5 camping seasons, would I buy a camper with a slide out again? Probably so, because I love the extra floor space.

Drawbacks (or minor annoyances):

1. The back portion of the camper is very cramped with the slide out retracted. The camper really isn't intended to be used with the slide in, though I have gotten in and out of it with the slide in.

Loading groceries enroute is a PITA with the slide in.
Getting in the bathroom is also a challenge, unless you are good at doing a side-step dance maneuver while shimmying through the narrow space between the wall where the sliding bathroom door is and the dinette.

2. Without a slide topper awning, you will likely get water in the camper when you retract the slide if the slide roof is wet. The water won't all get squeegeed off the roof by the rubber flapper seals when you pull in the slide. What water remains up there will run off the roof, and into the camper interior once you start moving down the road.

The first time I encountered the above was when I was returning from the Overland Expo two years ago. The weather got cold coming through California, and I hit snow near Mt Shasta. I stopped for the night, and put out the slide, never giving a thought to the snow accumulating on the slide roof. (DUH!! What the heck was a thinking?!? ) The furnace ran a lot that night. In the morning, I had to climb up on the roof and clear the snow off the slide roof. NOT FUN! Once the slide was in I had to clean the residual snow/water off the slide roof with some towels.

Later down the road, I realized I should have left the slide in. It would have prevented the snow/water problem, and probably would have provided better warmth too, with less air space to heat.

Last night I stopped for the night, and shortly after parking, it started to rain, so I immediately retracted the slide after I remembered the problem above.

Neither of the above are meant to sound like a person shouldn't / can't extend the slide during inclement weather. The instances I encountered as described above were minor concerns / issues for me because I was just stopping for the night, with the intent to hit the road as soon as I woke up.

So, what is everyone elses list of benefits and drawbacks of a slideout?

[kerry4951]

steve68steve wrote:


To the person who justifies a slide-out because they're campground hosts and wouldn't want to live in a non-slide all that time:
My wife and I went back and forth on this very topic for a while before buying an RV. If we were going to full time, or sit parked in one spot for long periods, we wouldn't use a TC for that - we'd get a TT.
We got a TC because we envisioned more travel, less camping. The TC is a great machine for bumming around on a long weekend, or taking a long cross-country trip, or even day-trips to the lake, the beach, whatever

Since you are probably referring to us I will address your concern. We use our TC atleast 80% of the time traveling and moving from spot to spot. When we travel we are moving all the time. We usually are towing our UTV trailer. We bought a TC for the flexibility of being able to get around. For the times when we do host at CGs we still use our TC because I have no intentions of going out and buying a 2nd RV. By having the slide out our TC is still very comfortable and adequate for us to stay stationary and live out of it. When you own only one RV you have to weigh your options and try to find the right match for your needs. A large TC with atleast one slide out works well for us no matter what our plans are for the month.

[Super_Dave]

The only draw back I've experienced with my slide out is worry. I've read too many posts about folks not being able to get them out or back in again. I've had my camper for 6 years and it works flawlessly but still worry about it.

[Butch50]

brholt wrote:

Your experience with water coming into the camper from the slide is interesting. So far on our AF we have left the slide out in varying anounts of wind and rain and I have noticed anything. Any further details?

I believe he is talking about when he brings the slide in after it has been raining and the wiper on the top of the slide doesn't wipe off the top completely. Not when he is parked in the rain with the slide in the out position. That is the reason he is talking about getting a slide topper.

[brholt]

deltabravo wrote:
Tonight is one of those nights where a slideout is a bit of a drawback!!

I was heading east on I-90 in Washington. I stopped for fuel in CLe Elum. I almost parked for the night when I fueled up, but it was only 6:30, so I figured I would continue on for another hour or so.

As soon as I got on the interstate, I could see lighting in the distance. The further east I got, the closer I was getting to the lighting. The weather radar on my phone showed I was heading in to the storm, and the storm was heading east / northeast.... same direction I was traveling. It was getting dark now.

7:45pm, I'm heading down Vantage Hill. It doesn't have that name as an official name, but as long as I've been alive, that's what my family has called it, as well as my friends, etc. It's a 10 mile long descent down to the town of Vantage. I-90 crosses the Columbia River here.

Lighting was getting closer. The wind kicked in and was buffeting me around about the last mile or so of the descent.
Right near the bottom of Vantage Hill, a massive lighting strike (multiple bolts actually) lit up the sky... and blinded me.
I said "enough of this nonsense" and pulled off and am currently parked in Vantage. It started raining as I got parked.

Since my plan is to hit the road not long after I wake up tomorrow morning, I don't want to deal with a wet roof on the slideout, like I mentioned happened at the beginning of this thread, so I left the slideout in. The only annoying thing is the small gap between the table and the bathroom door.

It's 9:15pm now, it's raining hard, and the rig is teetering back and forth from the wind.

Your experience with water coming into the camper from the slide is interesting. So far on our AF we have left the slide out in varying anounts of wind and rain and I have noticed anything. Any further details?

[wnjj]

CAJW wrote:
My slide or not to slide purchase decision was easy to answer. Slide, DW comes along, no slide, camping by myself :(.

So which did you pick? 🙂

[Less_Stuff]

Slide out drawbacks:
Weight
Complication
Encourages bringing dogs along
Takes away the need for brushing up against your sweetie when using the camper.

Someone once told me if I ever had an extended cab truck I would not like a regular cab again.
So I've never had one and I still like my regular cab truck.
I suspect the same thing applies to slide outs in a camper.



Need to add my reason for not bringing dogs.
Would never have seen the neibours in B12.

[SugarHillCTD]

I was an anti-slideout person.

We had a non-slideout TC. Then adopted 2 larger dogs

Saw that a local dealer had a barely used 2012 Lance 855s.

Cathy was OK with just looking at it. She saw the interior room that the slideout created. SOLD.

[deltabravo]

Kristenstewart wrote:
is it possible to have slide out's for the heavy trucks..

??

Don't understand your question.

[CAJW]

My slide or not to slide purchase decision was easy to answer. Slide, DW comes along, no slide, camping by myself :(.

[Kristenstewart]

I'm in trucking business for taking loads to and fro for the industry..is it possible to have slide out's for the heavy trucks..

[portscanner]

When we got our TC, I originally did not want the slide. But we discovered the TC we have now at a price I could not refuse (25% below what I set as our budget), with a dry bath (which DW demanded), with a slide (which DW really liked) and in very good condition.

If I think we are going to get rain, I make sure I set up with the front 1/2 bubble high and the left side a 1/4 to 1/2 bubble high and I dont worry about any water intrusion - slide is on the right side.

With the two dogs and us, that extra 12" of floor space is a life saver (we dont trip over the dogs.) The single slide, when in, does not interfere with accessing anything. We do have a little bit of air leakage underneath the side, so on cold nights, so we will pull it in. A minor annoyance, but I remind myself of the most important option that I insisted this TC have when we got it: It's paid for.

[Sheriffdoug]

Imagine an extra 18-24 inches right down the middle of your TC, that's the difference with a slideout for a little extra weight, and you can open it a few inches during the day whilst stopped for lunch, 3-4 seconds for half and 7-8 seconds for fully extended. Being able to pass your partner and both getting dressed at the same time. In the first TC a popup, one had to sit whilst one cooked, showered or got dressed.
You can go semi off road, remembering height & width, however, I would not open slideout if truck frame was twisted from severely uneven ground, to cause undue frame stress.
As for boondocking/stealth parking, we have so many wide open spaces, just off the road, or when in a city, stay at local yacht club, it is very safe here.
I would not be without a Slide Out or in the case of the new 2013 Eagle Cap 1160, 2 slideouts(1 with a sofa).
There are sometimes, I wish I had a small non-slide popup, for serious offroad,
but as said, I just dismount and off we go, and home base is ready, to relax, when we get back, from city driving or country offroading.
Just remember, we have what they want! All Truck Campers ROCK.
"Rock'n in the . . a". Bruce S. (Rock'n in Australia, as well!)

[deltabravo]

Tonight is one of those nights where a slideout is a bit of a drawback!!

I was heading east on I-90 in Washington. I stopped for fuel in CLe Elum. I almost parked for the night when I fueled up, but it was only 6:30, so I figured I would continue on for another hour or so.

As soon as I got on the interstate, I could see lighting in the distance. The further east I got, the closer I was getting to the lighting. The weather radar on my phone showed I was heading in to the storm, and the storm was heading east / northeast.... same direction I was traveling. It was getting dark now.

7:45pm, I'm heading down Vantage Hill. It doesn't have that name as an official name, but as long as I've been alive, that's what my family has called it, as well as my friends, etc. It's a 10 mile long descent down to the town of Vantage. I-90 crosses the Columbia River here.

Lighting was getting closer. The wind kicked in and was buffeting me around about the last mile or so of the descent.
Right near the bottom of Vantage Hill, a massive lighting strike (multiple bolts actually) lit up the sky... and blinded me.
I said "enough of this nonsense" and pulled off and am currently parked in Vantage. It started raining as I got parked.

Since my plan is to hit the road not long after I wake up tomorrow morning, I don't want to deal with a wet roof on the slideout, like I mentioned happened at the beginning of this thread, so I left the slideout in. The only annoying thing is the small gap between the table and the bathroom door.

It's 9:15pm now, it's raining hard, and the rig is teetering back and forth from the wind.

[abslayer]

I would never have move over to a TC fro 5th wheel if slide outs were not available on TC.
The extra space one gets from a slide in TC makes it just like a smaller 5th wheel , would never have gone to a TC with out this.:C

[nick11]

For me the slide out is the only reason a TC was even a consideration. Me DW and 2 kids in our 06 AF860 works. Having a full wall slide in a SB camper is incredible compared to a non slide. I am doing this on a SRW and towing a Mastercraft boat. They are taller and heavier but by setting the truck up right and driving smart this setup works fine.